La Cité to construct new Ottawa building for cheesemaking program

A partnership between two Ontario colleges and the province’s dairy council to establish Canada’s first hands-on cheesemaking training program will see Ottawa’s La Cité collégiale construct a new addition to its campus.

La Cité and western Ontario’s Conestoga College will partner on the new program aimed at addressing a reported shortage of cheesemakers in the province.

The offering follows recent studies from the Ontario Dairy Council – a supporter of the program – that found the province was coming up short in its supply of both current and future cheesemakers. The ODC expects Ontario will see demand for 200 cheesemakers in the next decade.

Both colleges will construct new builds on their respective campuses to implement the professional training program. La Cité CEO and president Lise Bourgeois said in a statement that the two post-secondary institutions have earmarked a collective $3.5 million for land investment and have a fully approved curriculum in both official languages. The Canadian Dairy Commission is contributing $500,000 to the program as well.

A spokesperson for La Cité told OBJ it was too early to discuss details of land allocated for the new build, but added that more information would follow in the coming months.

Lactose enthusiasts can expect to start making cheddar at one of the two colleges starting in fall 2020.